Vietnam rare earth reserves were significantly revised downward by the US Geological Survey in January 2025, dropping from 22 million metric tons to 3.5 million metric tons — a cut that repositioned the country from second to sixth in the global reserve rankings. The revision, based on updated Vietnamese government data, has sharpened questions about the gap between Vietnam’s long-publicised mineral ambitions and extraction reality. Annual production stood at just 300 metric tons of rare earth oxide equivalent in 2024, according to USGS, unchanged from the prior year.
Vietnam Rare Earth Reserves — What the Data Now Shows
The 2025 USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries revised Vietnam’s rare earth reserves to 3.5 million metric tons of rare earth oxide equivalent. That figure places Vietnam behind China (44Mt), Brazil, India, Australia, and Russia. The revision was significant: earlier USGS editions had cited 22 million metric tons, a figure Vietnamese authorities had used extensively in investor outreach and diplomatic engagements.
The deposit base remains geographically concentrated in the northern provinces. Lai Châu and Lào Cai provinces host the principal known deposits, with mineralogy dominated by bastnäsite and monazite ores — both light rare earth element (LREE) sources, rich in cerium, lanthanum, praseodymium, and neodymium. Ion-adsorption clay deposits, which are more amenable to cost-effective heap-leach extraction and carry heavier rare earth element (HREE) profiles, are present in smaller quantities in southern regions but remain less characterised.
The reserve revision does not eliminate Vietnam’s strategic relevance — but it does recalibrate expectations. The country still holds meaningful deposits by global standards. The more pressing constraint is the near-total absence of production infrastructure relative to the resource base.
Key Deposits and Mining Operations
Đông Pao (Lai Châu province) is Vietnam’s largest known rare earth deposit, located in Tam Đường district. Estimates suggest the deposit contains approximately 7 million tonnes of ore grading around 5% rare earth oxides. The mine has been licensed for over a decade but has operated only sporadically. State-controlled Lai Châu-VIMICO Rare Earth Co. (Lavreco) holds the current mining licence and has been seeking foreign investment partners to fund a restart.
Australia’s Blackstone Minerals had been positioned as a key Western partner at Đông Pao, planning to bid for extraction concessions in a government auction process first signalled in late 2023. That process has not yet concluded. Production that had been targeted for end-2024 has not commenced as of mid-2025, with the project still in the planning stage.
The Đông Pao trajectory was further complicated by the October 2023 arrest of six industry executives, including the chairman and deputy CEO of Vietnam Rare Earth JSC (VTRE) — previously the country’s primary domestic refiner and Blackstone’s intended joint venture partner. VTRE’s chairman was charged with forging value-added tax receipts. The arrests disrupted planned auction proceedings and removed VTRE as a functional bidder. Blackstone confirmed it was not implicated and stated it remained committed to the process pending government action on concession timing.
Nam Xe and Bắc Nậm Xe (Lai Châu) represent additional LREE deposits in the same northern corridor, less advanced in terms of permitting and partner engagement. Yên Phú (Yên Bái province) has seen small-scale and artisanal extraction activity; Thai Duong Group, whose chairman was also arrested in October 2023 on charges of illegal ore sales, operated at this location.
Vietnam’s Rare Earth Policy and Export Controls
Hanoi has pursued a domestic processing-first policy for rare earths, restricting the export of raw ores to incentivise value-added refining within the country. The logic mirrors Indonesia’s approach to nickel: prevent offshore beneficiation of strategic resources. In practice, enforcement has been uneven — the 2023 arrests were partly predicated on allegations that raw ores were shipped to China because domestic refining was deemed uneconomical at current scale.
Vietnam’s National Mineral Plan (2021–2030) targets total rare earth oxide production of between 20,000 and 60,000 tonnes per year by 2030 through a combination of mining expansion in Lai Châu and Lào Cai and new separation capacity. The gap between that target and the 300 tonnes produced in 2024 is substantial and would require multiple large-scale project financings within the current decade.
On the geopolitical dimension, the US elevated diplomatic relations with Vietnam to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in September 2023, with critical minerals explicitly on the agenda. Japan’s JOGMEC has previously funded exploration activity in Vietnam. Both Washington and Tokyo view Vietnam as a potential diversification node in the rare earth supply chain. China’s export controls on rare earth materials, tightened progressively since 2023, have sharpened that strategic interest.
Chinese state-owned enterprises have also expressed interest in Vietnamese deposits. Industry analysts note the tension inherent in this: attracting Chinese investment in mining without allowing Chinese control over processing would effectively route output back into the Chinese supply chain — defeating the diversification logic that makes Vietnam attractive to Western partners in the first place.
Vietnam in the Global Rare Earth Supply Chain
Vietnam’s strategic position is defined more by what it could become than by current output. Proximity to Chinese processing clusters in Jiangxi and Sichuan, combined with lower labour costs and a government actively courting Western investment, makes it a logical candidate for an integrated LREE processing hub — provided governance risk can be managed and infrastructure investment materialises.
The honest assessment is that the gap between reserve base and production reality is large. VTRE’s current separation capacity is approximately 5,000 tonnes of REO per year — a fraction of government targets — and the institution itself is weakened by the 2023 corruption case. No fully operational, scaled Western-backed rare earth project has yet broken ground in Vietnam.
Vietnam is tracked alongside other Asian producers in the Asia rare earth overview, and context on Chinese supply chain dominance is covered in the China rare earth country profile. For a comparative reserve ranking, see the top 10 rare earth producing countries.
Country Snapshot
| Metric | Detail |
|---|---|
| USGS Reserves (2025) | 3.5 million metric tons REO equivalent (revised from 22Mt) |
| Global reserve ranking | 6th (USGS 2025 MCS) |
| Annual production (2024) | ~300 metric tons REO equivalent (USGS) |
| Primary deposit type | Bastnäsite and monazite (LREE dominant) |
| Key elements | Cerium, Lanthanum, Neodymium, Praseodymium |
| Flagship deposit | Đông Pao, Lai Châu province |
| Key licence holder | Lai Châu-VIMICO Rare Earth Co. (Lavreco) |
| Western partner (Đông Pao) | Blackstone Minerals (ASX: BSX) — concession bid pending |
| Government production target | 20,000–60,000 tpa REO by 2030 |
| Policy stance | Export restrictions on raw ore; domestic processing required |
| Key strategic partners | USA (Comprehensive Strategic Partnership), Japan (JOGMEC) |
Vietnam’s rare earth sector sits at the intersection of significant geological endowment and significant execution risk. The USGS reserve revision is a material recalibration of the country’s position in the global supply picture. What remains unchanged is the structural logic: Western supply chain diversification requires non-Chinese producers, Vietnam has deposits worth developing, and the government has stated its intent to develop them. The timeline is the variable. Watch for Đông Pao concession auction progress and any formal US or Japanese government financing commitments as the leading indicators of whether that timeline tightens. Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025 · Mining.com reserve revision coverage.
What are Vietnam’s rare earth reserves according to the latest USGS data?
The USGS revised Vietnam’s rare earth reserves to 3.5 million metric tons of REO equivalent in its January 2025 Mineral Commodity Summaries, down from the previously cited 22 million metric tons. The revision moved Vietnam from second to sixth in the global reserve rankings, behind China, Brazil, India, Australia, and Russia.
Why is Vietnam’s rare earth production so low relative to its reserves?
Vietnam produced approximately 300 metric tons of rare earth oxide equivalent in 2024, far below government targets, due to a lack of processing infrastructure, governance challenges, and the absence of fully operational Western-backed mining projects. The country’s two largest industry operators — VTRE and Thai Duong Group — both faced senior executive arrests in 2023 on corruption-related charges, disrupting planned concession auctions and investment timelines.
What is the Đông Pao rare earth mine and when will it produce?
Đông Pao in Lai Châu province is Vietnam’s largest known rare earth deposit, estimated at around 7 million tonnes of ore grading 5% REO. The mine has been licensed for over a decade but has not achieved sustained production. Australia’s Blackstone Minerals is positioned to bid for extraction concessions alongside state-backed Lavreco, but as of
What is Vietnam’s policy on rare earth exports?
Vietnam restricts the export of raw rare earth ores to require domestic processing before export — a policy designed to build refining capacity within the country rather than exporting value-added potential offshore. Enforcement has been inconsistent; the 2023 arrests of industry executives were partly linked to allegations that raw ore was shipped to China because domestic refining was not economically viable at small scale.
Which countries are competing for access to Vietnam’s rare earth deposits?
The United States elevated relations with Vietnam to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2023 with critical minerals explicitly included. Japan’s JOGMEC has previously funded exploration. South Korea has signed MoUs on rare earth supply chain cooperation. Chinese state-owned enterprises have also expressed acquisition interest, creating tension with Western partners seeking supply chain diversification away from Chinese control.
